Full-sized iPad Air packs A7 processor into thinner design

Apple introduced the fifth generation of its full-sized iPad on Tuesday, re-naming its tablet the iPad Air. The new offering bumps up the speed and performance while slimming the bezels to give the iPad a sleeker look.

Apple introduced the fifth generation of its full-sized iPad on Tuesday, re-naming its tablet the iPad Air. The new offering bumps up the speed and performance while slimming the bezels to give the iPad a sleeker look.

The iPad Air sports the same 9.7-inch Retina display as its full-szied predecessor, but it has a much smaller bezel around the screen--43 percent thinner than previous generation, according to Apple. Overall, it's 20 percent thinner than fourth-generation model. And at one pound (down from 1.4 pounds), it's lighter than before as well.

During Apple's special media event, senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller called it, "the lightest full-sized tablet in the world."

The iPad Air incorporates the new 64-bit A7 chip first seen in the iPhone 5s, with the same M7 co-processor. Apple says the new processors deliver twice the CPU and graphics performance as the iPad with Retina display that came before it--all the while retaining the tablet's 10-hour battery life.

The iPad Air also takes advantage of faster 802.11n Wi-Fi thanks to MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) support with multiple antennas. It also had expanded LTE support for more countries around the world.

Apple also touted both improved FaceTime (front) and iSight (rear) cameras, plus the addition of dual mics for better Siri and audio capture.

Both Wi-Fi and LTE models of iPad Air will start shipping November 1 in 42 countries. It will be the first iPad launch ever where China will be included in the first round of rollouts (though customers in China, Hong Kong and Macao will only be able to order the Wi-Fi version). The Air will come in silver/white and space gray/black color choices, costing the same as the iPads it replaces--staring at $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi and $629 for 16GB Wi-Fi to Cellular, and going up to 128GB models. The iPad 2 remains in Apple's lineup at $399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version.

Apple also announced new cases for the iPad, at $39 for polyurethane and $79 for leather, including Product Red versions of each.